hair loss

[droverdale]

Not mine, but a 2 year old devon. Some of his hair fell out last spring but this year it is worse. It starts between his hind legs and went to his knees and nose,now his back and butt. Not all falls out just many patches, he is unsightly,Looks bad. Have 4 other steers in the same pasture and feed the same, any guesses? Thanks

[OldKat]

@droverdale 8171 wrote:

Not mine, but a 2 year old devon. Some of his hair fell out last spring but this year it is worse. It starts between his hind legs and went to his knees and nose,now his back and butt. Not all falls out just many patches, he is unsightly,Looks bad. Have 4 other steers in the same pasture and feed the same, any guesses? Thanks

lice or mange would be my guess. Started on the inside of hind legs above the hocks? Is the skin wrinkled and irritated looking? Has he been eating hay from round bales by any chance? If so to the last two questions, I would almost bet that he has lice.

Ivermectin pour on will clear him right up. Good news is that it will take care of mange, too. Bad news is it will also take out dung beatles wherever he has droppings. If he has lice, odds are the others will have it soon. Not sure if there are any oraganic options to Ivermectin, but I would be happy to know if there are. I am leery of how much Ivermectin is being used on cattle in my area.

[Vicki]

My book says injectable ivermectin for mange mites, also for scabies mites. Beginning between legs and going where hair is thin sounds like pattern for mange mites. Whether lice or mites, treat all the animals in contact and clean brushes, combs, etc. and isolate from other cattle until treated.

[OldKat]

@Vicki 8212 wrote:

My book says injectable ivermectin for mange mites, also for scabies mites. Beginning between legs and going where hair is thin sounds like pattern for mange mites. Whether lice or mites, treat all the animals in contact and clean brushes, combs, etc. and isolate from other cattle until treated.

Really? I used pour-on for my cows that had this same pattern of hair loss & it worked fine. Then again, I didn’t have a diagnosis of exactly what they had so I was just guessing.

BTW: It was winter time & I didn’t want to muddy up the creek to cross them over to where the pens are located (not that there was actually that much water in the creek at the time), so I put out range cubes, a few at a time to get them standing in little groups. Then I used a large syringe, sans the neddle to measure up the amount of pour on that I wanted. I would just walk by and use the syringe to dose it out along their spine. Worked like a charm.

[Howie]

I agree with Oldkat I think the pouron works just as well as the needle and it don’t hurt.
I don’t like to poke the boys anymore than necessary.:eek:

[droverdale]

I have tryed ivermect pour on 2 times already, no change. It started up near the top of his rear legs on the inside. Just hoping to save a vet bill i guess, but will have to bite the bullet. Thanks

[Anonymous]

I agree, it sounds like lice, but could also be a start of ringworm. Using Ivermectin pour-on will work, but you could also try Cydectin Pour-On, which DOES NOT affect dung beetles. Dectomax Pour-On is another choice. You can always go with the old stand-by of Lice powder/dust. It’s just so messy and smells terrible. But it does work. Remember when dealing with lice, you must treat the entire herd, at the same time, or they will re-infect each other, Also, be sure to re-treat in 10-14 days if using the powder, as the eggs will re-hatch and start the whole program over again.
Hope that helps.

[Anonymous]

@Howie 8233 wrote:

I agree with Oldkat I think the pouron works just as well as the needle and it don’t hurt.
I don’t like to poke the boys anymore than necessary.:eek:

Also, when using the INjectable forms of Ivermectin or Dectomax, they only kill SUCKING lice, they will not kill Biting LIce, and it’s usually the biting lice that cause all the hair loss, alot of rubbing, scratching, weight loss, etc.

[OldKat]

@livestockconcepts 10142 wrote:

I agree, it sounds like lice, but could also be a start of ringworm. Using Ivermectin pour-on will work, but you could also try Cydectin Pour-On, which DOES NOT affect dung beetles. Dectomax Pour-On is another choice. You can always go with the old stand-by of Lice powder/dust. It’s just so messy and smells terrible. But it does work. Remember when dealing with lice, you must treat the entire herd, at the same time, or they will re-infect each other, Also, be sure to re-treat in 10-14 days if using the powder, as the eggs will re-hatch and start the whole program over again.
Hope that helps.

Thanks for the heads up on this. I have been trying to stay away from Ivermectin, simply because I know it is devastating on dung beetles. Sadly there are not a bunch of alternatives out there and most do not say whether they affect the beetles or not.

Do you know by any chance what the active ingredient is in Cylence brand spray? I had great luck controlling horn flies with it for two summers, but then last summer NO success at all. The flies would literally walk around on the cows back, soaking wet with Cylence and it wouldn’t affect them at all. This year I am using the old standby Lintox, but I really don’t like using stuff that harsh. It is giving me 10 days or so of control, so I am kind of stuck with it.

[Vicki]

Sorry, Old Kat and Howie, but hair loss beginning between legs does not sound like lice. Hair loss from lice will almost always show up first on tailhead or withers and neck, where hair is thick. Hair loss where hair is thin, such as inner legs, is typical of mites. I’ve had lice on my cattle and pour-on always works, but I don’t know if it will work for mites. I’ve never dealt with mites. And there are two kinds of mites.

I like Cydectin pour-on.

[OldKat]

@Vicki 10152 wrote:

Sorry, Old Kat and Howie, but hair loss beginning between legs does not sound like lice. Hair loss from lice will almost always show up first on tailhead or withers and neck, where hair is thick. Hair loss where hair is thin, such as inner legs, is typical of mites. I’ve had lice on my cattle and pour-on always works, but I don’t know if it will work for mites. I’ve never dealt with mites. And there are two kinds of mites.

I like Cydectin pour-on.

I think if you look back at my first post I said “lice or mange“, which you are obviously aware that sarcoptic and other forms of mange is caused by mites. Damage from sucking lice is generally in the areas of dense hair growth, i.e. up top as Vicki noted. Biting lice can be found anywhere they can get to the skin, which means the whole body is fair game. Same is true for mites.

Usually (in our area) lice is more of a late winter, very early spring thing and the damage we most often see is up around the tailhead and neck / brisket area. Surprised to hear that the animal is still having the hair loss problem this late in the year. Usually warmer weather, thinner haircoats help control the situation. Not sure if the mild summer you guys are experiencing would extend lice / mite season later in the year or not. Not a problem that I have ever encountered! 😀

Generally I don’t think most people make a major distinction between the two (lice and mites) as the treatment is pretty much the same. However, if the hair is fairly well gone on the inside of the legs and is moving or has moved up on the round muscle & the skin has an inflammed (red and scabby looking), and rough look to it (like elephant skin) … it probably is mites. I have only had that on one or two of my cows in the past and I think I ended up using a spray on concentrate that was labeled for sarcoptic mange mites. Seems to me I had to do it a couple of times, maybe two or three weeks apart to get control.

BTW: Although I didn’t know it at the time, I have since heard that (in my state at least) sarcoptic mange is reportable to the state vet. I think that may be a federally reportable condition. If you suspect mange at all you might want to get a diagnosis from a vet and closely follow his / her recommendations for treatment.

Good luck on riding the animal of whatever is causing this malady.

[Tim Harrigan]

Could be an allergy or sensitivity to either something in the pasture or bites from flies or other insects that do not bother the other steers.

[Author]

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